I will keep on visiting as many police stations as I can. I know what is in store for me but still, I will comb through them. Maybe it is because of the hope of finding something that will help me ahead. I step out of the room and get out of the building. I gave a long hard thought about whether I should take a gun. My mind wanders to the movie I was talking about - I am Legend. Will Smith had plenty of guns with him. He needed it in his situation. There were zombies to be kept clear of. Presently I don’t think I will ever come across such a situation now or in the future cause, there isn’t anyone left to be a zombie. Except myself.

He also had a dog with him. I can use a dog like that. The dogs of the police academy would be the best contenders in that situation. I wonder where they keep the dog squad. There must be a separate facility for it. I could use one of them though. They will not be friendly to me. They will pounce on me at the slightest opportunity. They are trained for that. How will the fact that they are hungry from morning affect them? Will they see me as someone to trust and befriend if I approach them with food? Or has hunger gotten the better of them, unleashing their feral nature? I think I will pass. For now, I think I am good alone.

I have never had the opportunity to keep a dog at home. We never stayed on such premises. Having always stayed in apartments, dogs were out of the question. A few months before leaving Trivandrum and moving to Kottayam, a kitty strayed into our garden. At that time we were living on the ground floor of a small apartment complex. I was away for work. When I came home, I was welcomed with a soft meow from under the sofa. Mom took me through how the kitty came to be a resident.

The kitty was frail and hungry when my mother came across her at the corner of the gate. The other stray cats in the neighborhood had their eyes on her. She wouldn’t have survived the ordeal if my mother hadn’t taken her in. She was fed well. In a couple of days, she showed signs of recovery. Soon she was becoming healthier as the days passed. When I asked my mom why it was kept a secret from me she said it was to surprise me. I remember the blank state I was in that instant. I didn’t know what to feel about the kitty. I have always wanted a dog as a pet. A cat, I don't know. I didn’t have a great impression of them. They have always come across as selfish cunning creatures of comfort and no loyalty, which is quite opposite to the nature of a dog.

As the days passed, the kitty grew on me. I started feeding it at first. Then I slowly started to pat it and play with me. When my time came to go back to work, we had become comfortable with each other. She would come and sit between my legs on our sofa as I lie on it. One thing I liked about her was that she ate everything we gave her. She was not choosy. She had known hunger and was happy to have whatever she got.

She was most attached to my mother. After she came back from the office, she would wag her tail and follow her into the kitchen. As she made tea for us, she would pour some milk for her. She would happily lick it dry. She instantly responded to the calls my mom made to her. We didn’t name her anything. She was addressed by petting noises to which she responded.

Mother got transferred from Trivandrum to a place near our hometown. We could only find an apartment on the fourth floor. Luckily there wasn’t anything said about keeping pets in the house. So we decided to take her along with us. Mom couldn’t part with her. She had become very attached to her. She was now a fully grown-up cat. Her initial cuteness had faded away. But she was loyal to us. In Trivandrum, she would jump out of the window and wander out into the main road. Once I had thought she was going away. But she would always return back in time to be there at home when my mother came.

She stayed with us for over a year during which she gave birth to three litters twice. We gave them away after they were mature enough to fend for themselves. We kept her though. Mom loved her. She has even gone on to remark that the cat was more faithful than her two sons. She couldn’t remark on the love towards her. In that, there was no question or doubt regarding our love for her.

I haven’t seen many cats since the morning. They must be oblivious to what has happened. They know how to find food and feed their hunger. In that regard, they are smart animals. They are too smart, to be frank. My friend has a couple of Persian cats in his house. His sister looks after them. He showed them to me when I visited him a couple of years ago. They are not at all like the ones we had. These cats had an air of superiority in them. They kind of knew the attention they were getting and acted accordingly. Our cat learned to hunt down small insects and scavenge for food. All these cats did was look cute (if you can say that) and do nothing. They would lie around on the sofa or the table and chill. I almost envied their chill lifestyle. Food for them would be served on a plate meant for them. They gave attention to their masters from time to time to please them. For the rest of the time, they ignored them. Cats surely are one-of-a-kind creatures.

Ah! I just saw a cat walk stealthily on top of the compound wall. She looks at me, gives a quizzing look, and goes about her business.

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I get on my scooter, make a U-turn and head back to the junction. Here I take a left turn to stay on the main road. I pass a single makeshift tent pitched on the pavement adjacent to the secretariat. This is where you come across people who are on strikes or protesting against the government and its policies. The numbers keep on changing. Sometimes it gets really overwhelming. For this reason, they have the cantonment station close by. I have seen plenty of protests happening here. Luckily none of them turned violent. Some do. It can get ugly. I can’t decide if it is a good thing to go aggressive and get thrashed by the police when you cross a certain limit. I have never been a part of one. Maybe I don't understand how it works. I am not a political follower. I don't know if I have a political ideology. I want everyone to happy and respected and given equal opportunities for their growth and development. That's it. Also, I condemn political fanaticism and the mixing of politics with religion. It is a danger to the very fabric of society and its smooth functioning.

College politics is a minuscule version of its elder brother. The one that I came across in my college had its own flavor. A couple of parties that are actively present in the state have their student union across the hundreds of colleges in the state. They play small power games to rule over their campuses and enjoy the privilege they gain from it.

As my final year was ending, elections were announced for forming the college union. The reigning union was going on solidly for the past five years. The government changed in the state the previous year. This saw the rise of a challenger - the student union of the ruling party. A clash was imminent. The ruling union took it a tad bit lighter. When the campaigning started they felt the heat. The students wanted a change and here was one.

The college also brought in a rule whereby a student with backlogs couldn’t contest the elections. This made some of the charismatic students of the ruling union invalid. They had to do with some of their lesser-known ones.

I remember how some members from the ruling union come to meet us as part of their campaigning process. They were our batchmates. A couple of them were our classmates as well. One of them was my roomie's lab partner. We were already having late-night discussions on how the voting would go about, who all are the candidates and how they fared against each other. As part of pushing their point on why this union would be a disaster for the college, they brought a religious element into play. They made claims that if their competitors came into power, they would bring in groups having a religious tone. We listened to them in patience and assured them of voting sensibly. We couldn’t promise them our votes. We would vote for the deserving candidates. We had nothing to lose. We were passing out in four months times. We wanted our juniors to reap the benefits of the outcome.

The moment they left, we burst out into hysterical laughter. We were so intrigued as to the level they would drop in order to beat their opponents. They had lost their votes with this tactic. We were a religious mix and were living peacefully. The whole religion thing never came in between us. We respected each other's beliefs and even held healthy discussions regarding religion and what it meant to us as an individual. We didn’t stop there. We questioned all that we can. It was the time to gather knowledge and broaden ourselves.

Both parties rallied till the last moment. Unlike past times, it was peaceful and without any unwanted incidents. The nominees were held up for scrutiny by the public. They were given the opportunity to present their manifesto and ask for support. Some spoke like true leaders. They spoke of how they would bring a change. Some spoke like true politicians. They were more interested in belittling their opponents and projecting themselves as the better option. In my opinion that never makes sense. You should be focused on yourself and how you can bring in a change, not how you are better than your opponent. Throwing mud at someone's face is a tactic employed by those who have little to offer. They are big on words and small on action. They can’t be a good leader. Or a change-maker. They are here for the power, not for the people.

Election Day came as announced. The general sentiment was for a change. The voting went on throughout the day. The turnover was good. It was being followed by our passed-out seniors closely. They too would have loved to have a change in their time, but the circumstances never came through. Some of them even tried, only to find themselves against a ruthless opponent. Times had changed and so had the tide.

The results were announced late in the evening. The opponents came out victorious by a huge margin. The victory was welcomed with huge furor and fanfare. It was a historical moment in the history of our college. The stronghold was broken and in marched the new brigade. The change was inevitable and it happened. The flags changed colors. A new beginning had been scripted. I witnessed it all with happiness and a passive smile. I hope the victors stick to their values and act as they preached.

Whenever there is a talk on politics among my friends or colleagues, I prefer to be the listener. I am curious to know how people think and their viewpoints on the topic. When asked I prefer to stay neutral. I am a diplomatic person in that way. I would have made a good diplomat for the country. My wife says this. She is a person who has strong views and likes to oscillate around the full width of the spectrum, while I am the one who likes to stay in the midpoint, safe and sound. It is a good combination, a balancing act of sorts. If she heard this she would have taunted me and pulled my leg by digging out some point from the context. Later she would accept it.

The Secretariat looks desolate. The white expanse feels greyed out. Without the camaraderie surrounding the place and the activities that make the place come alive, its importance is nil. It is silent and still like any other building I have come across today. Even on a hartal day, there is some sort of activity happening here. Without it, an air of death and decay will take over the expanse. I don’t want that to happen.